History

On October 9–10, 1999, the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was held. Headlining the event were Beck, the Chemical Brothers, Tool, Morrissey, and Rage Against the Machine; other acts included Jurassic 5 and Underworld. Originally, promoters had hoped to make the event three days (Friday to Sunday) and even considered the UK band Massive Attack as the third-day headliner. The organizers strived to recreate European music festivals with small crowds in a great setting with plenty of turntables. By booking acts based on artistry rather than radio popularity, Coachella earned the title of "the anti-Woodstock". Tickets sold for $50 for each day; about 17,000 tickets sold for the first day, and 20,000 for the second, falling short of the overall attendance goal of 70,000. Attendees were offered free parking and a free bottle of water upon entrance. The event went smoothly, with the well-behaved crowd starkly contrasting with the violence that plagued Woodstock '99; the biggest challenges to Coachella concertgoers were temperatures exceeding 100 °F and the decisions of which of the 80-plus acts to attend. The festival was well regarded among attendees and critics; Pollstar named it festival of the year, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said that it "laid the foundation for what someday may be a legacy of its own". However, Goldenvoice lost $850,000 on the undertaking, forcing the promoter, in Tollett's words, to "struggle for almost two years to survive as a company". Prominent acts like Rage Against the Machine, Tool, and Beck agreed to receive deferred compensation. Goldenvoice reserved tentative dates for October 2000 to reprise the festival, but ultimately canceled for that year; Tollett blamed it on the oversaturation of music festivals in Southern California. The electronic dance music festival Nocturnal Wonderland filled the void at the Empire Polo Club, taking place in September 2000. Goldenvoice opted to bring Coachella back in April 2001 in an attempt to beat the heat. Ticket prices were raised to $65. Organizers encountered difficulty booking acts for the festival and due to "available talent", were forced to shorten the festival to a single day. Issues with securing a headliner threatened to doom the event until Perry Farrell agreed to bring his reunited group Jane's Addiction to the proceedings. Amidst financial concerns, Tollett agreed to sell Goldenvoice to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in March 2001 for $7 million. Tollett initially retained full control of Coachella, but now shares ownership evenly with AEG. Like its predecessor, the 2001 festival went smoothly; over 35,000 tickets were sold,[16] and despite taking a loss again, Tollett estimates it was a "low, low six-figure sum". In 2002, the event returned to a two-day format, featuring the reunited Siouxsie and the Banshees, as well as headlining acts Björk and Oasis. Palm Desert natives Queens of the Stone Age became the first local band to play the festival. The strong supporting acts helped prove to the Indio community that the event could bring in money and take place without conflict. More than 55,000 people attended over the two days, and for the first time, the festival nearly broke even.

The 2003 festival featured Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys, as well as the reunited Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and drew the largest crowd yet.[16] The event began to develop worldwide interest and began to become nationally known. It was also the first year on-site camping was provided,[28] improving accessibility as a destination music festival for concertgoers. The ticket prices at this time were $75 for one day, and ranged higher to the price of $140 for a two-day pass.[7] The 2004 event featured the reunited Pixies, as well as Radiohead, Kraftwerk, The Cure, Belle and Sebastian, and The Flaming Lips. It was Coachella's first sellout, drawing a two-day total of 110,000 people.[16] For the first time, the festival attracted attendees from all 50 US states.[16] The 2005 event ran from April 30 to May 1 and featured Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Snow Patrol, Weezer, M.I.A, M83, Bloc Party, The Prodigy, Keane, Chemical Brothers, Kasabian, Nine Inch Nails, Bright Eyes, Wilco, Spoon, Stereophonics, Tegan and Sara, New Order, Rilo Kiley, and Jem.

The 2006 event featured headliners Depeche Mode and Tool. Two of the most popular performances were Madonna, who played in an overflowing dance tent, and Daft Punk, whose show featuring a pyramid-shaped stage is cited as one of the most memorable performances in Coachella history.[16] Other performers included Massive Attack, Scissor Sisters, James Blunt, and Gnarls Barkley. Around 120,000 concertgoers attended the event over two days.[16] In 2007, Goldenvoice inaugurated the Stagecoach Festival, an annual country music festival that also takes place at the Empire Polo Club the weekend following Coachella. The new event helped avert complications with organizing Coachella; the polo club's owner Alex Haagen III had been planning to redevelop the land unless a new profitable event could be created to make a long-term lease with Goldenvoice financially feasible.[6] Along with the new festival's addition, Coachella was permanently extended to three days in 2007. The headlining acts were Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reunited Rage Against the Machine, and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. Other notable performers included Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Manu Chao, a rare American performance by former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Scarlett Johansson, who sang with the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain. The festival compiled a three-day aggregate attendance of 186,636, a new best, and grossed $16.3 million.[29] In 2008, Coachella did not sell out for the first time since 2003. It featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson, along with notable appearances from Portishead, the reunited The Verve, M.I.A., Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, the reunited Love and Rockets, and the reunited Swervedriver. Waters' inflatable prop pig flew away during his set.[16] The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million,[29] but lost money, due to tickets not selling out and high booking fees paid for Prince and Roger Waters.

The 2009 festival occurred a week earlier than usual. The new dates were April 17, 18 and 19. The event featured headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers, and The Cure. On Friday, McCartney blew past the festival's strict curfew by 54 minutes.[16] Sunday, The Cure had their performance end abruptly, with the festival cutting stage power after passing their own curfew by 30 minutes.[30] Notable performances included Franz Ferdinand, M.I.A. (whose 2005 encore set in a tent was a first at the fest), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and rare appearances from artists Leonard Cohen and Throbbing Gristle. The festival drew an aggregate attendance of 152,962 and grossed $15,328,863.[31] Organizers did away with single-day ticket sales in 2010, offering instead only three-day tickets,[32] drawing mixed reviews.[33] Headliners included Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz, along with LCD Soundsystem, the reunited Faith No More, a reunited Pavement, Thom Yorke of Radiohead and his live band Atoms for Peace, Tiesto, and supergroup Them Crooked Vultures.[34] Other notable acts were Fever Ray, deadmau5, La Roux, MGMT, Florence and the Machine, Spoon, Bassnectar, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, She & Him, Céu, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Specials, a rare Plastikman live set from Richie Hawtin, Sly Stone [1], and David Guetta. Despite Tollett's reservations about holding a festival in 2010 due to the economy,[35] that year's Coachella drew 75,000 spectators each day, for an estimated average aggregate of 225,000 attendees, surpassing previous attendance records.[36] Thousands of fans broke through fences, leading to concerns about overcrowding.[16] The festival grossed $21,703,500.[37] The sun sets over the Coachella Stage in 2011 Prior to the 2011 festival, Goldenvoice made several investments and improvements locally to help support Coachella. In addition to funding an additional lane for Avenue 50, which borders the festival, the promoter cleared additional space on the polo grounds by leveling a 250,000-square-foot area and moving horse stables.[38] Lighting and security were also enhanced to help the festival run more smoothly.[16] The headliners for that year's event were Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West and The Strokes, while other performers included Duran Duran, Mumford & Sons, the reunited Big Audio Dynamite, PJ Harvey, and the Black Keys, among another 190 supporting acts.[39] The 2011 festival grossed $24,993,698[40] from 75,000 paid attendees, for an aggregate attendance of 225,000 across the entire three-day weekend.

On May 31, 2011, Goldenvoice announced that beginning with the 2012 festival, Coachella would be expanded to a second, separately-ticketed weekend, with identical lineups for each.[42] Explaining the decision, Tollett said that demand for tickets was up in 2011 even after "operations weren't the best [they've] ever had" in 2010 and that he did not want to satisfy that demand by allowing additional attendees to overcrowd the venue.[43] Rolling Stone called it a "very risky move" and said there was "no guarantee that demand [would be] high enough to sell out the same bill over two consecutive weekends".[42] Nonetheless, 2012 tickets sold out in less than three hours. The 2012 festival featured headliners the Black Keys, Radiohead, and a twin billing of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.[16] During the latter's performances, a projection of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur appeared on-stage (a voice actor performed his introduction lines) and began performing "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted".[45] Although the media referred to the technology as a 'hologram', the projection was in fact created using the Musion Eyeliner system, which employs a version of Pepper's ghost.[46] Following the performance, the projection disappeared. Dr. Dre had asked permission from Shakur's mother Afeni, who said the next day that she was thrilled with the performance.[47] A projection of deceased singer Nate Dogg was also planned, but Dr. Dre decided against it. The 2012 festival also featured Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Porter Robinson, Pulp, At the Drive-In, The Hives, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Arctic Monkeys, Kaskade, Miike Snow, Gotye, Frank Ocean, Flying Lotus, St. Vincent, M83, Bon Iver, Kaiser Chiefs, The Shins, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Squeeze, Zedd, Awolnation, Fitz and The Tantrums, Santigold, Band of Skulls, Azealia Banks, ASAP Rocky, Childish Gambino, and The Weeknd, as well as unscheduled guest appearances by Eminem, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, Warren G, Rihanna, Usher, and Zack de la Rocha. The 2012 festival grossed $47,313,403 from 158,387 paid attendees across the two weekends; 80,726 tickets were sold for the first weekend, and 77,661 for the second. Prior to the 2013 festival, it was announced that Goldenvoice had reached a deal with the city of Indio to keep the Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals there through 2030. As part of the agreement, Indio's per-ticket share of revenue would increase from $2.33 per ticket to $5.01.[49] Featured performers for the 2013 festival included Blur, Descendents, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, The Stone Roses, The Lumineers, Metric, How to Destroy Angels, Of Monsters and Men, Infected Mushroom, The Postal Service, Wu-Tang Clan, Paul Kalkbrenner, The xx, Beach House, Redman, Vampire Weekend, Café Tacvba, La Roux, Phoenix, Social Distortion, Violent Femmes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 2 Chainz, Modest Mouse, Danny Brown, Tegan and Sara, Baauer, Tame Impala, Passion Pit, Stars and Earl Sweatshirt among others.[50] General admission tickets sold for $349, a $34 increase from the previous year.[51] The festival grossed $67.2 million in ticket sales and was attended by 180,000 people, making it the top music festival in the world.[52] In July 2013, Goldenvoice finalized a $30 million purchase of 280 acres of land surrounding the Empire Polo Club, including the 200-acre Eldorado Polo Club. The land, previously leased from Eldorado, will be used to provide more space for parking and general use for the festival.[53] Tollett said the purchase was intended to "help [Goldenvoice] put in some infrastructure so [they] don't have to keep coming back and do the same things each year".[54] The 2014 festival, held on April 11–13 and April 18–20, featured 184 artists.[55] A reunited Outkast headline on Friday, Muse headlined the Saturday shows, and Arcade Fire closed out Sunday nights. The 2014 festival also featured Ellie Goulding, Lorde, Pixies, The Replacements, Beck, Neutral Milk Hotel, Kid Cudi, Queens of the Stone Age, Nas, Calvin Harris, Broken Bells, Motörhead, Haim, Aloe Blacc, Bastille, Neko Case, MGMT, Zedd, Girl Talk, Pet Shop Boys, Foster the People, Lana Del Rey, The 1975, Pharrell Williams, Young & Sick, Chromeo, CHVRCHES and Mogwai among others.[56] Beyoncé made a surprise appearance during her sister Solange's performance. Justin Bieber also made a surprise appearance alongside Chance The Rapper. Jay-Z and Puff Daddy made surprise appearances during Nas' set. Jhene Aiko was joined by both Drake and Childish Gambino. Pharrell Williams had possibly the most guests which included Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, and Diplo. Deborah Harry joined Arcade Fire during their headline set to perform "Heart of Glass". General admission tickets sold out in less than 20 minutes, while all other tickets (including VIP tickets in excess of $5,000) sold out in less than 3 hours.[citation needed] That year's festival sold 193,000 tickets and grossed a record-breaking $78.332 million.[57][58] For the fourth consecutive year, Coachella was named the Top Festival at the Billboard Touring Awards.

The 2015 festival, held on April 10–12 and 17–19,[59] featured headliners AC/DC, Jack White, and Drake, with a surprise appearance by Madonna during the latter's weekend one performance. Other notable performers included Florence and the Machine, Marina and the Diamonds, Azealia Banks, Kaskade, Alesso, The Weeknd, Tame Impala, Interpol, Steely Dan, Alabama Shakes, alt-J, and Ryan Adams. General admission tickets again sold out in less than 20 minutes.[citation needed] The event established new records for tickets sold (198,000) and total gross ($84,264,264) for a festival.[58] The festival won Pollstar's award for Major Music Festival of the Year,[60] marking the 10th time in 11 years that Coachella had won the award.[61] The 2016 festival was held on April 15–17 and 22–24, featuring the reuniting of original Guns N' Roses members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, along with LCD Soundsystem's reunion and Calvin Harris as headliners. Other notable performers include Ellie Goulding, Jack U, Major Lazer, Chvrches, Robert DeLong, Ice Cube, Sia, Death Grips, Grimes, Disclosure, Sufjan Stevens and M83. Ice Cube's appearance featured a reunion of N.W.A., while Guns N' Roses' first weekend performance featured a guest appearance from Angus Young of AC/DC, who headlined the previous year; the cameo occurred the same day that Guns N' Roses' singer Axl Rose was announced as the new singer for AC/DC. Weekend two was marked by several tributes to Prince, the 2008 headliner who died just prior to the weekend's shows. The festival sold 198,000 tickets and grossed $84 million.[62] The 2017 edition of Coachella will take place from April 14–16 and April 21–23, and will feature Radiohead, Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar as headlining artists.[63] Beyoncé was originally announced as a headliner but was forced to withdraw at the advice of her doctors after she became pregnant. Other artists set to play the festival include The xx, Travis Scott, Father John Misty, Empire of the Sun, Dillon Francis, Mac Miller, Bon Iver, Future, DJ Snake, Martin Garrix, ScHoolboy Q, Gucci Mane, Two Door Cinema Club, Lorde, Justice, New Order, Dreamcar, Porter Robinson & Madeon, Future Islands, Hans Zimmer, PNL and DJ Khaled.[64] Tickets sold out within a few hours of going on sale.